As you are aware, sequestration went into effect on Friday, March 1st.

Over the past several years, we have faced a lack of predictability and flexibility in our budget cycle and a series of cuts. This fiscal year alone, we face the potential of at least an $18 billion dollar shortfall in our Operations and Maintenance accounts, due to the combined impacts of sequestration, the continuing resolution and contingency funding. These are the funds that allow us to support operations, maintain readiness and pay our civilian workforce.

While our attention here in Washington is on the fiscal situation and the difficult decisions that will shape our force into the future, we need you to remain focused on the fundamentals: develop your Soldiers, Civilians and our future Army leaders; conduct tough, realistic mission-focused training; maintain and account for your equipment; be good stewards of your resources; and sustain the high level of esprit de corps in your organization. Our top priority is to ensure that our forces defending the homeland, those in Afghanistan and Korea, and those next to deploy and rotate into theater, have the resources required to execute their missions. We also recognize that along with risks to readiness, sequestration will also bring particular hardship to our Civilian workforce.

We will share information through official Army channels on the impacts of sequestration as soon as it becomes available. You can also expect your Army leadership to visit major installations in the months ahead to facilitate a dialogue and listen to your concerns and those of your Family members.

Our current fiscal situation is challenging, but we must approach this as an opportunity to demonstrate, once again, our commitment to selfless service and our profession. Our Army will always remain, in every respect, the Strength of the Nation. Army Strong!

//Original Signed//
Raymond F. Chandler III
Sergeant Major of the Army

//Original Signed//
Raymond T. Odierno
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

As you are aware, sequestration went into effect on Friday, March 1st.

Over the past several years, we have faced a lack of predictability and flexibility in our budget cycle and a series of cuts. This fiscal year alone, we face the potential of at least an $18 billion dollar shortfall in our Operations and Maintenance accounts, due to the combined impacts of sequestration, the continuing resolution and contingency funding. These are the funds that allow us to support operations, maintain readiness and pay our civilian workforce.

While our attention here in Washington is on the fiscal situation and the difficult decisions that will shape our force into the future, we need you to remain focused on the fundamentals: develop your Soldiers, Civilians and our future Army leaders; conduct tough, realistic mission-focused training; maintain and account for your equipment; be good stewards of your resources; and sustain the high level of esprit de corps in your organization. Our top priority is to ensure that our forces defending the homeland, those in Afghanistan and Korea, and those next to deploy and rotate into theater, have the resources required to execute their missions. We also recognize that along with risks to readiness, sequestration will also bring particular hardship to our Civilian workforce.

We will share information through official Army channels on the impacts of sequestration as soon as it becomes available. You can also expect your Army leadership to visit major installations in the months ahead to facilitate a dialogue and listen to your concerns and those of your Family members.

Our current fiscal situation is challenging, but we must approach this as an opportunity to demonstrate, once again, our commitment to selfless service and our profession. Our Army will always remain, in every respect, the Strength of the Nation. Army Strong!

//Original Signed//
Raymond F. Chandler III
Sergeant Major of the Army

//Original Signed//
Raymond T. Odierno
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

I just received this auto-e-mail from UMUC since I am a student with them. I used Sallie Mae to pay for my last two classes.

Good luck

Greetings from UMUC Europe:

Due to the recent federal changes to Tuition Assistance (TA)
availability for Army and Marine servicemembers and possible TA
changes in other service branches, we understand you may have
questions about how to fund your education. If you have been using TA
benefits, please know that there are many other financial aid options
available to you.

Four alternate funding sources:

FEDERAL STUDENT AID
Most active duty servicemembers are eligible to apply for Federal Pell
Grants, which are need-based financial awards that do not have to be
repaid. How to apply for this spring and summer semester:

1. To activate your benefits, go to http://www.gibill.va.gov and click
on "Apply for Benefits"
2. Complete and submit the online VA 22-1990 form
3. Please note: Be sure to use the start date of the class for which
you wish to receive VA benefits
4. After registering for classes, request VA benefits in the MyUMUC
Student Portal: https://my.umuc.edu
5. For help, contact the UMUC Europe VA Office at
CIV +49-(0)6221-378149,
DSN 314-370-6762, or
e-mail va-europe@umuc.edu

TIP: Federal grants and loans can be used in conjunction with your VA
benefits so you can take advantage of as many funding options as possible.

SALLIE MAE PAYMENT PLAN
UMUC Europe offers a convenient payment plan with 0% interest so you
can spread your tuition payments over a number of months.

1. Learn more at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/tuitionpay
2. Applications are due 17 March 2013, but if you miss the deadline,
ask your field representative how to get an extension.

I just received this auto-e-mail from UMUC since I am currently a student with them. I have used Sallie Mae to pay for my last two classes and it is interest free.

Greetings from UMUC Europe:

Due to the recent federal changes to Tuition Assistance (TA)
availability for Army and Marine servicemembers and possible TA
changes in other service branches, we understand you may have
questions about how to fund your education. If you have been using TA
benefits, please know that there are many other financial aid options
available to you.

Four alternate funding sources:

FEDERAL STUDENT AID
Most active duty servicemembers are eligible to apply for Federal Pell
Grants, which are need-based financial awards that do not have to be
repaid. How to apply for this spring and summer semester:

1. To activate your benefits, go to http://www.gibill.va.gov and click
on "Apply for Benefits"
2. Complete and submit the online VA 22-1990 form
3. Please note: Be sure to use the start date of the class for which
you wish to receive VA benefits
4. After registering for classes, request VA benefits in the MyUMUC
Student Portal: https://my.umuc.edu
5. For help, contact the UMUC Europe VA Office at
CIV +49-(0)6221-378149,
DSN 314-370-6762, or
e-mail va-europe@umuc.edu

TIP: Federal grants and loans can be used in conjunction with your VA
benefits so you can take advantage of as many funding options as possible.

SALLIE MAE PAYMENT PLAN
UMUC Europe offers a convenient payment plan with 0% interest so you
can spread your tuition payments over a number of months.

1. Learn more at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/tuitionpay
2. Applications are due 17 March 2013, but if you miss the deadline,
ask your field representative how to get an extension.

Comment

I am sure the TA stoppage is severely impacting UMUC. It seems that about half the students in my classes are military (and I presume using TA). Thankfully I had already used up my TA max for the fiscal year so I have not been affected so far. We will see what happens by October.

I wouldn't count on it. If you look at the we the people website, you will see the response to most of the petitions is "Well this is why we can't do that." or some other nice way of saying no, if it gets a response at all. I find it funny that the top petition is about taking the westboro baptist churches tax exempt status away, and labeling them as a hate group. With near 340k signs that one has been ignored.

I wouldn't count on it. If you look at the we the people website, you will see the response to most of the petitions is "Well this is why we can't do that." or some other nice way of saying no, if it gets a response at all. I find it funny that the top petition is about taking the westboro baptist churches tax exempt status away, and labeling them as a hate group. With near 340k signs that one has been ignored.

You would have laughed at the WO distro today when someone use their government e-mail calling for this petition lol. CW5 had to do an e-mail WOPD

Comment

I have used Sallie Mae to pay for my last two classes and it is interest free.

Be very careful with Sallie Mae. They are infamous for their bully tactics and lies. My family is considering legal action against them. My family finally paid off my brothers college five-digit loans from them last year...a few months later they called us and announced they reported my parents and brother to a collections agency. They even went so far as to harass our out of state relatives, all because they couldn't keep track of their own finances.